DOYLE MURPHY
The Saint Louis Zoo is scheduled to go back to the usual free-for-all crowd situation in just a few days.
Reservations will no longer be required to visit the Saint Louis Zoo (1 Government Drive, 314-781-0900) starting Monday, May 23.
The reservation system started as a way to control capacity at the zoo while St. Louis faced COVID-19 restrictions. Anyone who has been there on a Saturday morning knows just how hectic it can get, so the system was implemented to give visitors more space to allow social distancing.
Visiting the famous St. Louis attraction is always free (even if some of us think they should charge admission fees) and reservations have been free, too.
Still, people complain even when it’s free. When the first warm days arrived this spring and families tried to flood the zoo, they were turned away if they didn’t have a reservation. This led to much entitled whining on social media.
But they’ll have to find something new to whine about soon (don’t worry, they will) because the Saint Louis Zoo is scheduled to go back to the usual free-for-all crowd situation in just a few days.
Here’s a pro tip for visiting the zoo in case you forgot: Carry or wear your baby, if possible. Strollers are vibe killers: They’re difficult to navigate through crowds, they’re easy to trip over, and they’re so expensive that you feel weird about just leaving them unattended somewhere while you run off to see the penguins.
Baby backpack carriers. Get into them.
